# Why do I get an error when launching an Open OnDemand HPC Interactive session?

**URL:** <https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/why-do-i-get-an-error-when-launching-an-open-ondemand-hpc-interactive-session/2496>\
**Category:** University of Alabama at Birmingham\
**Tags:** ondemand, anaconda, conda\
**Created:** [September 15, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/why-do-i-get-an-error-when-launching-an-open-ondemand-hpc-interactive-session/2496 "2022-09-15T21:05:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![wwarr](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/3be4f8/32.png) [@wwarr](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/u/wwarr)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/why-do-i-get-an-error-when-launching-an-open-ondemand-hpc-interactive-session/2496/1 "2022-09-15T21:05:17Z")

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When I attempt to launch my Open OnDemand HPC Interactive Desktop session, I get an error that looks like the following. Why does this occur, and what can be done about it?

![HPC Interactive error dialog.](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/uploads/default/original/1X/63dd5a191074ca0c938bd0a2514a853b64e40151.png)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![wwarr](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/3be4f8/32.png) [@wwarr](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/u/wwarr)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/why-do-i-get-an-error-when-launching-an-open-ondemand-hpc-interactive-session/2496/2 "2022-09-16T17:34:45Z")

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The most common cause of the mentioned error is that the command `conda init` was used at some point with your account on Cheaha, creating a block in your `.bashrc` file that looks like the following section.

```bash
# >>> conda initialize >>>
# !! Contents within this block are managed by 'conda init' !!
__conda_setup="$('/home/<YOUR_USER>/miniconda3/bin/conda' 'shell.bash' 'hook' 2> /dev/null)"
if [$? -eq 0]; then
    eval "$__conda_setup"
else
    if [-f "/home/<YOUR_USER>/miniconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh"]; then
        . "/home/<YOUR_USER>/miniconda3/etc/profile.d/conda.sh"
    else
        export PATH="/home/<YOUR_USER>/miniconda3/bin:$PATH"
    fi
fi
unset __conda_setup
# <<< conda initialize <<<

```

Anaconda is managed as a module on Cheaha, so it is unnecessary to use `conda init`, and can cause issues with Open OnDemand. To avoid the issue reoccurring, please do not use `conda init` on Cheaha.

To resolve this issue, you’ll need to locate the hidden file `.bashrc` in the file browser pane and select it. Please refer to this other Ask.ci question to find hidden files: [How do I locate hidden dot files on Open OnDemand?](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/how-do-i-locate-hidden-dot-files-on-open-ondemand/2498/2)

 ![Home files list with Show Dotfiles check and .bashrc highlighted.](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/uploads/default/original/1X/b8a56cfa2b9b5722d8323ec5c9a7a83b011c6372.png)

Click the “Edit” button. In the new tab that opens, delete the section shown above and click “Save”.

 ![Edit tab with highlighted section.](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/uploads/default/original/1X/1e0ed441aee747e9529e2ee7be7e5d8114f1993b.png)

Please try to launch your job again. If it still doesn’t work, please contact [Support](https://docs.rc.uab.edu/help/support/)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![prema](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@prema](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/u/prema)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/t/why-do-i-get-an-error-when-launching-an-open-ondemand-hpc-interactive-session/2496/3 "2024-04-09T20:12:42Z")

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Another cause of the aforementioned error might arise from setting up modules using the `module save` command at some point. This command saves a list of preferred modules as a default collection and generates a file in the path `$HOME/.lmod.d/default`.

 ![lmod_directory](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/uploads/default/original/2X/1/194f735043196adc6c7bf337ba847cac7f3ada74.png)

 ![before_module disable](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/uploads/default/original/2X/1/1fa53a11b70d2caaa2b22962548ce8e32f4afe86.png)

So, each time you log in, the default collection will be loaded as the initial set of modules. This leads to issues starting an Open On Demand (OOD) job, including an HPC Desktop job. For instance, if the saved modules contain `Anaconda` or other conflicting modules, they may disrupt the functioning of OOD jobs.

To resolve the problem, you’ll need to execute the `module disable` command upon logging into Cheaha. After disabling, make sure to close any active OOD HPC desktop jobs before initiating a new one to ensure the changes take effect.

```auto
$ module disable
Disabling default collection by renaming with a "~"

```

After disabling, you can see that the collection `default` is replaced with a `~` character at the end as `default~` in the path, $HOME/.lmod.d/, as shown below.

 ![after_module_disable](https://ask.cyberinfrastructure.org/uploads/default/original/2X/0/02f82fb0a22126c6032384f2a887a7bd2bfc9b7c.png)